Formatting Help

[MacDaddy77]

I want to format my desktop computer. Can someone please list the steps I need to take to do this properly.

My co-worker mentioned something about having to find and download the proper video card driver.

If there are virus's on the computer will formatting get rid of them?

I'm planning on giving this computer to my 8 year old brother so I want to make sure it is running well.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[photon]

What kind of computer? Many come with a reload CD which lets you reformat the computer back to the purchased state.

Otherwise it can be very easy to more difficult depending on a lot of factors.

EDIT: But yeah if you reformat, you usually have to go out and find the drivers for the stuff like the video card, sound card, etc. If it's common equipment they'll sometimes get updated if you do an update via Windows Update.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Best thing I've done is downloading drivers prior to reformatting. Have all the ones you need burnt to a disk ahead of time and you don't have to spend any time waiting for them to d/l. Not a big deal as most drivers are smaller, it's just the way I roll.

And yes, a format will flatten everything on the hard drive, viruses included. Make sure you do a full format and not the quick one.

[ricosuave]

it's really easy.

first, run this:
http://www.innovative-sol.com/drivermax/

And save all of your drivers to a CD or USB drive or whatever.

Then, reinstall windows by following these steps:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/12997...indows_xp.html

If windows doesnt get all of them, tell it to look in the folder that you saved them to.

It may seem intimidating, but its really not, and really, good to learn and go through.

If you can install a program, you can do this.

[Traditional_Ale]

Or bring me $50 and a six-pack of Trad.